Last Waltz
by Creme Caramel
Summary: Kristyn would never forget the last night she spent in the Enchanted Forest, or the last dance she shared with the man of her dreams- perhaps for the rest of her life. -Siegfried/Kristyn.


A/N: Before anyone reads this, gets confused and begins sending me PMs, please note that this fanfic is _not_ canon. This is my interpretation of the tale, should _Pink Shoes_ be written by me. This is also the birthday present for my friend Ceci. Hope you enjoy reading this!

Warning: Fluff. Angst. Cheesy talk. Ending is quite strange, but overall I'm proud of this one.

_-x-_

_Last Waltz_

_-x-_

Kristyn would never forget the last night she spent in the Enchanted Forest, or the last dance she shared with the man of her dreams- perhaps for the rest of her life. To this day, several months after she'd made the ultimate decision to leave the ballet world for good, the events of her adventure there, and most importantly, her last night there, still played out in her mind perfectly like it had just happened yesterday.

The stars were shining brighter than usual that night as Kristyn danced and twirled by the lake in the Forest, as she always did every time the shoes took her there. She loved it. She loved the feeling of the cool wind caressing her blond locks as she danced, she loved the euphoric feeling of being able to dance without anyone watching or supervising and occasionally correcting her moves. She loved the feeling of being free.

But most of all, she loved it because she knew he would always appear every night, at midnight, to meet her, and then they would dance and dance through the night in an endless flow until dawn. Prince Siegfried was his name, and he was the man of her dreams- quite literally. Charming and gallant, gentle and polite, he had marched his way straight into the heart of the dreamy teenaged ballerina from another world. When she danced with him, she felt like the whole world just stopped to watch them, and suddenly, she wanted to just stay with him forever and forget about her home, about her friends and family, about her dream to become a world-class ballerina, about everything. They would live happily ever after in this enchanting world where every day was a fascinating adventure, and-

Kristyn never let her thoughts wander further than that. As much as she loved it here, she would never forgive herself if she ever decided to stay and forfeit her duties, responsibilities and dreams waiting to be realized in the 'real' world. More importantly, she knew there were people there who loved her with all their heart. Her family. She wouldn't do this. She couldn't do this to them.

But with every visit to the enchanted world, Kristyn felt the desire to stay growing stronger, as reality gradually slipped away from her. It scared her. And suddenly she remembered the time she saw 'Swan Lake' in a school ballet; there was this character, named Siegfried, just like her prince, who fell in love with the ill-fated Odette, and she was left wondering: Was he real, or just a figment of her imagination? Was _anythin__g _in this world real at all?

The stars still shone brightly as Kristyn danced, lost in thought. She had decided, this would be her last visit to his world. She needed to leave before the temptation got too strong to resist, before the lines separating reality and fantasy becomes too blurry for her to see, before she got too emotionally attached to him that it would make leaving him an impossible feat to accomplish.

"_My lady."_

His voice was barely above a whisper. Kristyn stopped dancing and took a deep breath before turning around. She was immediately met with icy blue irises. The same eyes that looked at her as if she was a goddess on a pedestal, the eyes that told her she was an angel sent by the heavens, the eyes that screamed his love for her and his desire to be with her. Her heart constricted.

"Your Highness." She curtsied to him in the most elegant manner she could. He frowned slightly.

"_How many times have I told you to just call me Siegfried?" _ He asked as he took her hand, his eyes not leaving hers. She simply smiled as he kissed her hand and led her into a slow waltz.

"The stars are beautiful tonight, don't you think? I've never seen them shine so brightly," She commented, not knowing what else she should talk about.

Prince Siegfried nodded. _"They a__re,"_ He agreed, before adding, _"Just like your eyes, my lady. But your eyes are far more beautiful, as they shine even in the daylight, unlike stars, which are obscured by the sun."_

She couldn't contain laughter. She felt both flattered and uncomfortable every time he said those overly romantic words. No boy in the 'real' world had ever compared her eyes to stars before. This fact struck her harder than she had initially thought. It brought back the question she had been wondering, if he was real or just fantasy, and whether or not did she really belong in this world.

"How do you know? You've never seen me in the light of the day." She smiled and responded as he twirled her around. It was true. However long their nightly meetings might last, Kristyn always made Siegfried leave before dawn - at which time Odette would turn back into a swan- and then go home.

At that, his face turned into an expression that she assumed must mean he was thinking. After a while, he answered her.

"_True,"_ He told her, _"That is why__ I want to see you in the sunlight. Not just once. I want to see you dancing, surrounded by the lights of the day. I want to see the daylight on your skin. Every day. Please come out of the darkness. Come with me."_

Kristyn's smile faltered immediately. She definitely didn't like where the conversation was going.

"Siegfried, please…" She pleaded with him. "Don't do that. Don't go there."

"_Why not?" _He asked, curiosity lacing his voice. _"You know, I've promised my mother I would find a bride after tonight."_

"There are plenty of beautiful maidens ready to be your bride," She said and broke free from his grip, halting their waltz.

She had her back turned to him and missed the flicker of anger on his face as he spoke. _"I don't want_ _any of those beautiful maidens__,"_ He stated firmly. _"All I want is you. I love you."_

He was making their goodbye harder than it should be, she thought and bit back her tears. Maybe returning here had been a mistake. Maybe saying goodbye had been a mistake. Maybe she should simply leave without saying a word last time she was here.

"You- you don't understand…" She said. "I can't stay. I don't belong here."

"_Please stay with me," _It was his turn to plead._ "I need you."_

She finally turned around to face him. "I'm sorry," She said, caressing his cheek. "I love you, too, but… this isn't meant to be. Goodbye, Siegfried."

As she walked away from him, part of her was secretly hoping he would run after her and make her stay, but another part of her was glad he respected her 'leaving at dawn' rule and stayed on the spot where she had left him.

Saying goodbye to him wasn't as easy as she had thought. It felt like her heart was breaking with every step she took. But she had to do it. She still had so many things to do in her world, she still had to finish high school, she still had to realize her dream. She had come so far; she couldn't turn around now.

After making sure she was out of his sight, Kristyn twirled around and imagined a picture that was perfectly familiar to her. A moment later she opened her eyes and found herself in the old costume room where she had first discovered the magical pair of shoes.

Not being able to hold it any longer, she finally broke down and let her tears win the battle.

_-x-_

As days went by, Kristyn gradually learned to forget about Siegfried and the fantasy world by engaging herself in long hours of ballet practice and a busy schedule both at school and at home, desperately trying to keep her mind occupied. Still, occasionally she found herself daydreaming of a faraway land where every night, a prince came to their meeting place, waited for her, then left at dawn. He followed the routine religiously every night, despite the fact that the girl he had been waiting for never showed up once. But he was getting desperate; he knew the queen could not wait any longer and, sooner or later, would arrange for him a union with another girl herself.

"Coming, Kristyn?" A voice startled her out of her daydream. Kristyn looked up to find several of her classmates waiting at the door.

"No, you guys go," She said. "I'm just going to… practice a bit more."

The other girl frowned slightly. "Kris, you'll work yourself to death. Prom's in three weeks at least stop practicing and go get yourself a date."

Kristyn faked a smile and muttered something like "Yes, sure, I will," in response before the girl waved to her and shut the door closed.

Left alone, she could still hear that girl's voice echoing through the hallway as she enthusiastically told another person about her plans. Kristyn sighed. Why couldn't she just fall for someone who would be there when she called, someone who would take her out for pizza whenever she was down, someone who would be her date to Senior Prom? But no, she had to pine for a prince from a fairytale world she wasn't sure it existed. A prince she knew she wasn't going to see again.

Silently, she rose from the floor and began dancing. Whatever. She wouldn't have any time for prom anyway. Prom was on the same night as her dance show; many people from prestigious academies of performing arts would be there to see her. She had to give it her best shot, because it would be her first step towards becoming a world-class ballet like she always dreamed.

_-x-_

The big night finally came. Kristyn peeked out at the audience from behind the curtains and felt nauseous all over again. She had forgotten how nervous she could get in front of an audience. When she was in the fairytale world, everything seemed easy enough, but once she was back in the real world, in front of a real audience, she felt stage fright taking over her again. But she had to do this. She had to, if she wanted to one day live her dream. Kristyn looked down at her pair of pink dancing shoes, hoping they'd somehow magically give her strength to complete her dance routine successfully.

The lights went out and the curtains parted, revealing Kristyn as she posed in her opening position. She glanced at the audience one final time before the music began playing. All of a sudden the memories of her adventures in the fairytale world came rushing back to her, but one particularly stood out: Her last night there and her last waltz with the prince of her dreams. Suddenly, she no longer saw the hundreds of people watching her or the blinding light on the stage; all she saw was the glistening water of the lake under the moonlights, the silhouettes of the trees in the forest; she could even feel the soft grass under her feet and the cool wind blowing through her hair. It felt like… she was there again.

Finally, her picture became complete as she saw a figure approaching her. Her prince. It was like he came for her, to finish their interrupted last waltz that night. And just like every time Kristyn saw him, all her fears and doubts disappeared, and she lost herself in the music with every turn, every move of her body.

_-x-_

"Kristyn, you were great! I guess all the practicing did pay off, yeah?"

"Stellar performance, Kristyn! You'll get that scholarship for sure!"

"Kris, you have to teach me how to do that! I never get the moves right…"

And so on and so forth.

Kristyn had never been showered with so much praises and attention in her life. She felt a sense of accomplishment and pride in herself as she passed crowds of people congratulating her and praising her performance. It felt nice for once. She, the shy ballerina who never dared to dance in the presence of even one person, had finally overcome her anxiety and been recognized. Her dream was slowly coming true.

But why did her happiness feel so incomplete?

"Excuse me." She told the people surrounding her, and immediately burst into a sprint. She kept running towards the only place on her mind at that moment: The old costume room. She needed to see him again. She knew she was breaking the wall she had spent so much time building up, that she was making it worse because there was no way she could stay in his world and it was practically impossible that he would ever fit in her world, and that their love was hopeless, but she didn't care anymore.

She opened the door to the old room and closed it firmly behind her. After making sure no one was around to find out her little secret, Kristyn imagined the lake and the enchanted forest in her mind, and twirled around. Moments later, she opened her eyes to the exact scenery she had been imagining in her head seconds ago.

This time, unlike her previous visits, the sun was shining brightly over the forest and the lake. The sounds of the birds chirping happily filled her ears, and the warm breeze caressed her face as if it was welcoming her back. But much to Kristyn's shock, in the midst of the beautiful scenery, stood her prince, as if he had been waiting for her to come.

"Siegfried!" She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"_I thought you'd never come back, my lady,"_ He whispered into her ear as he held her in his arms.

She laughed. "I wasn't going to," She explained. "But I guess I just couldn't stay away for long. After all, didn't you say you wanted to see me in the lights of the day? Well, here I am."

"_Oh, yes,"_ He gazed at her lovingly. _"You are. You're just as beautiful as I imagined you'__d be in the sunlight."_

"Thank you," She replied. "But I'm also here for one more thing."

"_Yes?"_

"To finish our last waltz. A waltz should never be left unfinished like that." She said, and immediately after that he took her hand into his and led her into a dance.

"I don't know why I came back," She admitted as they danced. "I still can't stay, Siegfried. What's going to happen to us?"

"_I don't know,"_ He replied. Definitely not the answer she had been expecting. _"But I know your secret now, my lady. __I will always find you, no matter where you are. __Everything will turn out just fine, trust me."_

Kristyn never understood what 'secret' he had been referring to, but she shrugged it off. Even though their future seemed uncertain at the moment, she didn't care. All she cared about was that right here, right now, she was with him, finishing their unfinished last waltz.

"Oh, by the way," She flashed him a smile. "Stop calling me 'my lady'. My name is Kristyn."

Siegfried laughed. "_Alright. Kristyn it is then."_

_-x-_

Months later, before Kristyn headed to college, she visited the old costume room for the last time, strolling around the costumes and shoes and equipment, reliving all the good times and bad times during her high school career. She also came to return the pink shoes. They had been a big help to her dancing, but now, Kristyn truly believed she could only become a great dancer if she could dance with grace and confidence without them. Discovering the shoes had been the event that led to her having the most wonderful time of her life, but now, she had gained enough she needed to know. She put them back in the box, silently hoping that someday, maybe they'd help someone else the way they had helped her.

As she turned around, she heard a familiar male voice calling out to her.

"Kristyn?"

She couldn't help but crack a little smile. Guess he _did_ know her secret, and _did_ keep his promise, after all. She turned around, and was immediately met with icy blue irises. The same eyes that told her he'd follow her everywhere just to be with her, the eyes that told her they'd always be together from now on no matter how hard life could get, the eyes that screamed his love for her and his desire to be with her.

"My lady." He greeted her, his voice barely above a whisper.

She curtsied to him in the most elegant manner she could.

"Your Highness."

The End

P/S: I know, it's crazy. In fact, this might be the craziest thing I've ever written. But I do hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Reviews make my day. And last but not least, happy birthday, Ceci!

As for those of you who asked how Siegfried got to the real world, my answer is that: He learned it from Eric. Haha.


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